


Not Long Til I Lose You

by Canibananabalism



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Death, M/M, i do not apologize, pretty short story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canibananabalism/pseuds/Canibananabalism
Summary: Prompt: Bruce Wayne has a tattoo counting down the few moments he has left to live.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne/Jack Napier, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	Not Long Til I Lose You

He didn’t need to know. No one needed to know, but certainly not him. The tattoo was his secret to keep and Jack didn’t need to know about it, or at least what it meant. It was a countdown to his death, something he never thought he would be so scared of.

He always thought he would be ready for death when it came, he may have even welcomed it at a time. He never thought he would be so scared of his own death. But then again, he never thought he would fall in love with someone who wasn’t Selina after she left him. He never would’ve believed it if someone said he would fall in love with the Joker and would be able to have a semi-normal relationship with him. He’s been scared of the Joker before, he’s not dense enough to deny that, but now he’s scared for him. He’s terrified of what will become of the Joker he grew to love, Jack.

Jack always looked like the slightest of things could tear apart his resolve, but this was sure to bring Gotham with it. He didn’t know how to fix this. He didn’t know if he could fix this. He had an idea, but just the thought of it left a dull ache in his chest.

While Jack slept, he watched him closely. He wanted to remember this scene. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. He didn’t think anything could possibly compare to the sight before him, and that’s why it broke his heart.

He lifted Jack into his arm and brought him out to the Batmobile. If it weren’t for the darkness of the night and the Batsuit, anyone would have been free to see the heartbroken look on his face. He started driving and if he was fighting back tears on the journey, nobody needed to know that.

He layed Jack down on the bed and simply stood back admiring from behind the glass of the window. This was a terrible idea, but it was the best one he had. This would tear everything they built together to shreds and he wouldn’t be there to pick up the pieces. He wouldn’t even be there to watch it fall. 

There were others that he cared about, too. There were people he should probably warn so that they might have a chance at preparing for what was sure to come, but he just couldn’t bring himself to leave Jack alone, he couldn’t tear his eyes off of him. This was the calm before the psycho-storm.

He pulled his sleeve back just enough to see the tattoo. “30,” it read, then, “29.” This was the end of the line for him, he just hoped he wouldn’t be seeing the people of Gotham so soon. As he fell to the ground, suddenly weak, he saw Jack shift in his sleep followed by his eyes twitching. Everything around him went black and he was surrounded by a silence that shook him. Then he heard it. That terrible, psychotic, laugh that had grown to be so beautiful and genuine as the years went by.

It broke his heart to know that he had done that. That he had reduced the man he loved, into insanity personified. 

What hurt even worse was that while the people of Gotham didn’t appear quickly after him, like he thought, the Joker did.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not sorry  
> never will be  
> i do, however, love you for reading this and i hope you enjoyed it


End file.
